No. 3: The auto industry

It was a clunker of a year for the ailing auto industry, with two of the Big Three declaring bankruptcy. On April 30, Chrysler shuttered 789 dealerships and turned the reins over to Italy's Fiat. On June 1, GM followed suit, with the government taking a 60 percent stake in exchange for $30 billion. GM sold Hummer and discarded Pontiac, Saturn and Saab, with plans to close about 1,350 dealerships. Despite the government's $3 billion "cash for clunkers" program, which moved some 690,000 new vehicles this summer with rebates to junk gas-guzzlers, sales tumbled to a projected 10.4 million units for the year, the lowest since 1970. Vehicles traded as part of the government's Cash for Clunkers program are parked in a junkyard. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)

It was a clunker of a year for the ailing auto industry, with two of the Big Three declaring bankruptcy. On April 30, Chrysler shuttered 789 dealerships and turned the reins over to Italy's Fiat. On June 1, GM followed suit, with the government taking a 60 percent stake in exchange for $30 billion. GM sold Hummer and discarded Pontiac, Saturn and Saab, with plans to close about 1,350 dealerships. Despite the government's $3 billion "cash for clunkers" program, which moved some 690,000 new vehicles this summer with rebates to junk gas-guzzlers, sales tumbled to a projected 10.4 million units for the year, the lowest since 1970. Vehicles traded as part of the government's Cash for Clunkers program are parked in a junkyard. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)

It was a clunker of a year for the ailing auto industry, with two of the Big Three declaring bankruptcy. On April 30, Chrysler shuttered 789 dealerships and turned the reins over to Italy's Fiat. On June 1, GM followed suit, with the government taking a 60 percent stake in exchange for $30 billion. GM sold Hummer and discarded Pontiac, Saturn and Saab, with plans to close about 1,350 dealerships. Despite the government's $3 billion "cash for clunkers" program, which moved some 690,000 new vehicles this summer with rebates to junk gas-guzzlers, sales tumbled to a projected 10.4 million units for the year, the lowest since 1970. Vehicles traded as part of the government's Cash for Clunkers program are parked in a junkyard. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)